GIACOMO MONZINO -
GUITARIST AND PUBLISHER OF EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY

excerpts from the book "GIACOMO MONZINO - CHITARRISTA ED EDITORE DEL PRIMO OTTOCENTO" by Massimo Agostinelli, Giovanni Podera, Fabio Rossini, Ottocento Edizioni Musicali, Ancona 1993.

Biographical News

Giacomo Antonio Monzino was born in Milan in 1775 (Note 1), the firstborn son of Antonio Monzino (Milan, 1725 (Note 2)- 1800), one of the most popular stringed instrument makers and dealers in Milan. The elder Monzino opened a shop for the manufacture of guitars, violins, lutes and mandolins in Milan at about 1750, when he was quite young (Note 3); he was the first seller of musical instruments in that city. Giacomo (Note 4) represents the second generation of a glorious family, a family which has been transmitting its musical experience from father to child for more than 250 years. The Monzino name remains prominent in musical circles in Italy and abroad to this day.

In spite of the lack of a large amount of biographical data, we can surely assert that Giacomo lived most of his life in Milan. There he learned the fundamentals of music, devoting himself primarily at first to the study of the violin. At the same time, he became interested in the guitar, and that soon became his preferred instrument. By constant and industrious study he quickly acquired an admirable technique on the guitar, aided in no small measure by his father who taught him. He was probably in contact with other great guitarists of the city (Note 5). Despite the fact that Giacomo was largely self-taught, he was able to conduct a moderate concert activity in North Italy (Note 6).

Giacomo continued the further study of harmony, then devoted himself to guitar composition--an endeavor not without some difficulties, considering that the musical world in Milan at that time pivoted mainly around the operatic activity at the Theater of La Scala. Giacomo had to assume the directorship of the family firm in the first years of the Eighteenth Century,immediately upon his father's death. The firm was already well established commercially; this fact obviously dictated temporary changes in Giacomo's musical plans, which were partially set aside. At the same time, the new situation allowed him to give valuable guidance to the firm, which consolidated its importance in the musical market in the following years: it is likely Giacomo who promoted the publishing activity of the Monzino House, about 1807-1808 (Note 7). He was able to attract the interest of many composers by employing well-known engravers in the city (Note 8) and by making use of his musical acquaintances. These were generally local people, but included also the greatest Italian guitarist-composers of the period. Thereon followed the publication of the most remarkable works of guitar music, competing favorably with other publishers of the city. Naturally he included most of his previous works for guitar (Note 9), including his interesting “Method”. Moreover, he conceived a series of music with the title “Library of music for guitar”, that was offered to the public in the form of a periodic subscription. This collection contributed strongly to the propogation of a new guitar repertoire in the first part of the Nineteenth Century in Italy.

After this period of success, Giacomo entrusted the running of the firm to a qualified assistant, so that he could pursue his preferred musical activity as composer for the guitar, up to the time of the entry into his firm of his only child Antonio III (Milan, 1799 -1872), at about 1820.

Giacomo wrote works for guitar and for mandolin (Note 10), , an instrument he knew very well, and also liturgical music (Note 11). In retrospect he did not reach high levels, and it is today only conjecture as to whether he had some resonance in important European musical circles. In facing that question we must consider the lack of Monzino's foreign publications, and the diminution of compositional activity, which happened immediately after the publication of all his works; this activity seems to have lasted around a decade. (This period coincides, by the way, with a notable lack of information and documents, making any kind of supposition difficult.)

Presumably Giacomo Monzino returned again to the firm, to work together with his son, giving only occasional private lessons; in his later years he seems to have abandoned all interest in music and the guitar.

He died in Milan, his native city, in 1854 (Note 12), at the age of 82.

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END NOTES

Nota 1: This date is reported in all the reliable documents. Only one source reports the date 1776 (C. Schmidl: Dizionario Universale dei Musicisti, Sonzogno Publisher, Milan).

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Nota 2: Some sources report the date 1730, but more reliable sources confirm the above date.

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Nota 3: Other documents give the date 1767.

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Nota 4: Curiously this is the only case of a double name in the Monzino family, which is characterized by a chain of seven generations of “Antonio”.

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Nota 5: It is well known that the Milanese Antonio Maria Nava (1775-1826), who became one of most important guitarists in his city, was Giovanni Ricordi's favorite author. At this time he was also already a well-known teacher of guitar and singing. Luigi Moretti, Federico's brother, very probably worked in Milan; Ferdinando Carulli did as well, though for only a short time, before moving to Paris in 1808 (see the table)

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Nota 6: It does not seem likely, though we have scarce biographical indication, that he had artistic contacts with other European countries.

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Nota 7: Most surely his publications were done in Milan before those of the great editor Giovanni Ricordi, whose firm has been publishing since January 16th, 1808, as is well known.

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Nota 8: Especially Giovanni Re and Luigi Scotti, who probably went later to the Ricordi firm.

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Nota 9: These works are present in the first “Catalog of printed music” of the Monzino House (which see).

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Nota 10: Among these is the Theoretical-practical Method for the study of the mandolin of four double strings, (Florence, National Library), which went through subsequent editions.

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Nota 11: In the Royal Collection of Dresden, and in the file of the Catholic Church of the city, are preserved a “Kyrie” and “Gloria”, for four voices with instruments (see R. Vannes: Dictionnaire Universel des Luthiers, Paris, at the entry "Monzino, Giacomo Antonio").

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Nota 12: Some doubts unfortunately persist about the date of his death. On an illustration of the Monzinos' genealogical tree (see below) in the possession of the family, we find the date of 1834, which was at first the accepted date. Other documents give the date 1845 (see R. Vannes: (see R. Vannes: Dictionnaire Universel... ibid., and C. Carfagna - M. Gangi: “Dizionario chitarristico italiano”, Bèerben - Ancona 1968). But in another illustration of the Monzino generations, also coming from the heirs, the date of 1854 appears, and this hypothesis is supported by other material giving the history of the firm (dated 1905) and from other historical sources dated 1932. The principal dictionaries of guitar do not report any date of death. The authors' acceptance of this latter date does not exclude, however, that further data not yet come to light may disprove their hypothesis.

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